Author JK Rowling at Lincoln Center in New York in 2012.
Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, one of the West End’s most eagerly anticipated shows of 2016, is to be presented in two parts. Author JK Rowling, who is working on the play with writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, tweeted on Thursday that the decision was based on the “epic nature of the story”. The play’s two parts are intended to be seen either in order on the same day (at matinee and evening performances) or on two consecutive evenings.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play to open in West End in 2016

Read more

In an interview on the Pottermore website, Tiffany observed that the play “shares a scale and ambition with all the Harry Potter stories”. Tiffany, whose past hits include Black Watch and Once, said: “I’ve never worked on anything quite like this before.” He continued: “Usually in theatre you’re adapting existing material or creating an entirely new play. With the Cursed Child we have been given the unique opportunity to explore some of the most cherished books and beloved characters ever written, yet work with JK Rowling to tell a story from that world that no one yet knows – it’s exhilarating.”

“I just hope we do it justice,” said Thorne, who collaborated with Tiffany on an acclaimed adaptation of the horror story Let the Right One In. “I’m so constantly aware of respecting the previous seven stories.”

The play will have its world premiere in summer 2016 at the Palace theatre. Tickets go on sale this autumn. You can register for priority booking on the show’s official website.

She was a last-minute lead in the three-hour Linda and will play JK Rowling’s grown-up Hermione Granger in the West End. Now Noma Dumezweni is making her directorial debut with the thriller I See You at the Royal Court